Afghanistan to issue national fiber optic licenses

Ajmal Ahmady, senior economic adviser to President of Afghanistan, met with senior officials from Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) on Tuesday in Char Chenar Palace to discuss national fiber optic licensing procedures and signal interference for Salam and MTN.

The government of Afghanistan is determined to develop its fiber optic backbone in order improve the quality telecom services in the country. For this purpose ATRA plans to issue three categories of fiber optic licenses: national, regional and local. The licensing will be carried out in an open and competitive process.

Another issue that was discussed was the interference of Salam and MTN signals by jammers in Kabul city. Recently, these two telecom companies have been experiencing interference in their signals from jammer in the city

After deliberation and discussion Ahmady instructed that the fee structure for fiber optic licenses should be discussed with the Ministry of Finance and a couple of successful global case studies should also be explored.

In regards to the signal interference for Salam and MTN the issue will be discussed in a joint meeting with the Ministry of Interior Affairs.